Overview
- Police Chief J. Noe Diaz presented a timeline saying officers found the 15-year-old at a McDonald’s on Oct. 5, could not confirm his identity, and after CPS guidance transferred him to the Office of Refugee Resettlement at 8:45 p.m.
- HPD says the teen told officers he had no local family and gave a different name, which prevented a missing-person match; detectives later informed his mother on Oct. 10 and connected her with ORR.
- Cesar Espinosa of FIEL Houston was escorted from council chambers after accusing Diaz of lying about the case as several council members had praised the chief’s presentation.
- Advocates argue Emmanuel has significant cognitive disabilities and should not have been treated as unaccompanied, criticizing HPD’s reliance on immigration-related authorities.
- While in ORR care, Emmanuel underwent an emergency appendectomy at Texas Children's Hospital and was returned to federal custody, as Mayor John Whitmire said he would assemble a legal and investigative team to review the case and explore options to help the family.